Yearly Archives: 2012

Summer Rejuvenation

The interns have arrived. They’re full of energy and enthusiasm – and great ideas. During their first week we told them all about Code for America, and they told us about their adventures making their way out to San Francisco. It seems they’ve arrived at the perfect time to infuse some energy into the office.Read… Read more »

Head of NSA Endorses the Cloud, China Tied to Cyber Attacks, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, endorsed using the cloud for sharing classified intelligence on cyber threats with critical industries. More here. A MeriTalk survey finds that federal employees blame training and investment for the gap between public andRead… Read more »

New Research Survey: Federal Digital Communication Priorities

How can your agency improve its digital communication strategy? Is expanding engagement with external stakeholders your # 1 priority? What is the impact of social media? GovDelivery is conducting a new research study, “Federal Digital Communication Priorities.” The study seeks to identify the top digital communication priorities of the Federal Government sector. Please take aRead… Read more »

Here is the Half Truth: Executives Don’t Know What is Going On

She says, he says An article in the Washington Post of June 13 titled “Ex-loan officer claims Wells Fargo targeted black communities for shoddy loans” includes a number of “he said, she said” claims. In this case “she” is Beth Jacobson, who worked as a loan officer for Wells Fargo. Amongst other things she claimsRead… Read more »

Call for Proposals for NCDD Seattle!

In case you haven’t heard, NCDD is holding a national conference for civic innovators this October 12-14 in Seattle. NCDD conferences bring together hundreds of the most active, thoughtful, and influential people involved in public engagement and group process work across the U.S. and Canada. Imagine spending three days with some of the most amazingRead… Read more »

Open Source – It’s Not Just Software, Baby!

Initially, open source was an approach to developing software among coders, which was like Spanky, Darla, and the Our Gang kids “puttin’ on a show.” Everyone contributed what they had (sharing resources) and did what they knew (collaborate) – and the show was always a success. The open source approach is a philosophy, a culture,Read… Read more »

Carolyn Lukensmeyer to direct National Institute for Civil Discourse, transition from AmericaSpeaks

It’s official… Carolyn Lukensmeyer — who we all know as founder and president of AmericaSpeaks — is moving on to a new role. She’ll be serving as Executive Director of the University of Arizona-based National Institute for Civil Discourse. Carolyn gave me a call yesterday with a heads-up about today’s big announcement, and said whenRead… Read more »

Predictive Firefighting

While using predictive software to help law enforcement is a new trend, modeling and forecasting wildfires has been around for decades. This year’s forest fire season is off to a violent start, and we already see many of these analytical tools in play in New Mexico, which has its largest forest fire in history burnRead… Read more »

GovBytes: Michelle Obama catches the Pinterest bug

Pinterest, with tremendous growth as of late, has made a splash in the world of social media. The photo-sharing website was the fastest website ever to break through 10 million unique visitors, and 40-60 percent of registrants regularly use the service after they’ve created accounts. First Lady Michelle Obama Joins Pinterest The service hasn’t escapedRead… Read more »